Big Soft Molasses Cookies

I grew up in a small town on Canada’s east coast. There were certain kitchens you could walk into and you knew there would always be a tin full of these Big Soft Molasses Cookies tucked away in a cupboard or the pantry. 

My Great Aunt Dot always opened her tin of Molasses Cookies when we came throttling through her kitchen screen door after playing in the fields of the old farmhouse she and Uncle Norval lived in. When I stayed over at my friend Holly’s, her Mom, Audrey Mitchell, always put a plate of Molasses or Sugar Cookies and cheese out for the family’s evening tea time. 

When I was flying home from New Brunswick last fall, I found myself sitting on the plane beside Peter Crosby. He’s the seventh generation of the Crosby family to run Crosby’s Molasses in Saint John. Believe me, you wouldn’t imagine using anything but Crosby’s Molasses if you are a Maritimer. If you are Canadian at all, the same applies. (This is not sponsored—I just like it.) They have a wonderful recipe for Soft Molasses Cookies. But, it’s Audrey Mitchell’s recipe that I’ve adapted here. I found it in the New Directions in Cooking cookbook as published by the Wesley United Church of St. Andrews-By-The-Sea (circa 1985). Do any of you have a collection of spiral-bound, small town church cookbooks? Please tell me I’m not the only one.

Audrey’s recipe intrigued me because there’s no sugar and no eggs. And, it used lard instead of butter. This made it a very inexpensive baked good. I wonder if it was a wartime adaptation when premium goods like sugar, butter, and eggs were scarce? 

Recipe Deep Dive

It also has an interesting technique, I’d never seen in a recipe. You start out by heating the fat, molasses, and baking soda. Once cooled, you then add that mixture to the flour and spices. Once thoroughly mixed, you leave the dough in the fridge for a few hours before rolling it out. I tried leaving the batter in the fridge overnight but it was like concrete. An hour or two is all that’s needed. The dough got its rest but was still easy to work with. Resting the dough improves the flavour and texture by allowing the ingredients to hydrate and the flavours to deepen. Resting also firms up the fat, which prevents cookies from spreading too much during baking. The result is a chewier and/or crispier texture. 

Is it nostalgia that makes me find and bake these old recipes? Partially. But mostly it’s the sense that some recipes are just too good to get left behind. I also think molasses is underrated. Molasses is rich in minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. And, it’s made from pure sugar cane and nothing else.

I hope you enjoy these Big Soft Molasses Cookies with some milk, tea, or coffee. Let me know in the comments below. Prefer your cookies thin and crispy? Check out this recipe for Really Thin and Crispy Ginger Snaps.

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